Building International CSR on Solid Foundations: Location and Network Aspects of Nonmarket Environments in Europe and Non-Europe Markets. ACES Working Papers, 2011

Multinational companies' (MNCs) corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs frequently comprise a portfolio of disconnected country-level programs or, alternatively, consist of blanket corporate policies that apply in the same way across the geographies where the company operates. Yet, the international nonmarket environment in which CSR programs operate is neither a completely fragmented nor a perfectly homogeneous one. Building on the concept of stakeholder-issue-networks, we develop a model that explicitly takes into consideration the role of geography in the characterization of a firm's nonmarket environment. This allows us to develop a taxonomy of nonmarket environments on the basis of their geographic spread and their degree of cross-border connectedness. We then explore the strategic and organizational implications that different ideal types of (cross-border) nonmarket environments have for the development of international CSR policies

Market convergence and advertising standardization in the European Union

In this study, we draw on industrial organization and institutional research to explore the relationship between market convergence and standardization of advertising programs. We argue that environmental isomorphism, which maintains that the external market environment is a principal driver of firms’ institutional structures, places pressure on firms to adapt their organizational structures and strategies to changing institutional conditions. We propose that the convergence associated with European market integration will lead firms to emphasize three advertising strategies: creating a uniform brand image, appealing to cross market segments, and increasing cost performance in advertising. Further, we hypothesize that these strategies will be associated with an overall tendency to standardize advertising strategy and execution. Results of a survey of managers of subsidiaries of Japanese and U.S. firms operating in the EU suggest that firms that believe the EU is converging are more likely to engage in these standardized advertising strategies. Additionally, our findings suggest that firms that seek to create a uniform brand image and appeal to cross market segments are more likely to standardize their overall advertising programs. Finally, we find that firms’ desire to create a uniform brand image is a function of their goal of building brand equity, regardless of the level to which markets converge. We draw implications for research and practice regarding firm responses to market convergenceThis research was funded by a grant from the Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation (Tokyo) to the first author

Management Research that Makes a Difference:Broadening the Meaning of Impact

The world is undergoing dramatic transformations. Many of the grand societal challenges we currently face underscore the need for scholarly research – including management studies – that can help us best sort out and solve them. Yet, management scholars struggle to produce concrete solutions or to communicate how their research can help to tackle these grand societal challenges. With this editorial, we want to help scholars seeking to ‘make a difference’ by broadening our understanding of what constitutes impactful research. We examine five forms of impact – scholarly, practical, societal, policy, and educational – outlining how scholars can systematically extend or enlarge their research agenda or projects to amplify their impact on the challenges societies face. We suggest that each of these forms of impact has intrinsic value in advancing the scientific enterprise and, together, can help to address key societal problems that reach beyond the immediate and traditional context of business management. With concrete suggestions for getting started on these forms of impact, and possible outputs for each, we hope to stimulate management and organization scholars to think more broadly about the opportunities for making an impact with their research and to begin doing so more often

Happy diamond anniversary JMS! A decade analysis of the Journal of Management Studies

The Journal of Management Studies, founded in 1963, is celebrating its 60 th year. Clark et al. (2014) conducted a bibliometric analysis for its 50 th anniversary assessing whether the journal had maintained its leading international ranking and sustained its mission to serve as a broad-based management outlet. In this review, we build on and extend their findings by examining trends in the journal over the past decade (2012–22). We present a broader analysis of JMS by exploring its unique identity within the management journal ecosystem and examining its scope and breadth in terms of topics, methods, and author demographics to document JMS's evolution, impact, reach, and accessibility. We develop a new bibliometric framework that employs a mix of qualitative and quantitative analyses (including regression, text, and language analysis) to cover a broad range of considerations for a journal and its stakeholders. In so doing, we contribute to the bibliometric and review research areas by proposing new metrics (related to diversity, equity, and inclusion) and analysis tools to assess the relative position of an academic journal. Employing this framework, we conclude that JMS has retained and enhanced its position as a leading, cutting-edge general management journal.</p

The management of socio‐political issues and environments::Toward a research agenda for corporate socio‐political engagement

Socio-political issues and environments are becoming more complex and challenging. In this introduction to the special issue on ‘The Management of Socio-Political Issues and Environments: Organizational and Strategic Perspectives’, we take stock of the burgeoning research on how firms interact with socio-political actors and environments over the last few decades, specifically research on Corporate Political Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility. We then argue that the socio-political environments and actors with which firms interact are in a state of flux, such that issues are more interrelated and dynamic, and actors are more diverse and demanding. As such, we propose a new concept of corporate socio-political engagement (CSPE), which represents a more holistic perspective to understanding complex interactions among firms and their social/political stakeholders, incorporating and transcending conventional notions and tactics documented in the extant nonmarket strategy literature. Using a two-dimensional framework that captures the identity of socio-political actor or the nature of socio-political issues (political, social, or both) as well as the relevant level of analysis at which the interactions unfold, we showcase the contributions of the special issue articles to this research agenda. Finally, we discuss and specify future research directions for revealing the multifaceted nature of CSPE

The return of state capitalism? How the Covid-19 pandemic put the liberal market economies to the test

As states across the world increase their interventions in the economy to deal with the fallout from the pandemic, we are likely to see an uptick in state ownership of assets (again). States can use various tools for proactive intervention in economic production and the functioning of markets, in addition to its regulatory and security roles. Mike Wright, Geoffrey Wood, Aldo Musacchio, Ilya Okhmatovskiy, Anna Grosman, and Jonathan Doh undertake an exploratory factor analysis with seven variables that represent various aspects of state intervention in economic activities for 59 countries. They find that not all state interventions should be threatening to business

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals: Pros and Cons for Managers of Multinationals

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are becoming a crucial mechanism for coordinating governments' efforts to address global challenges. However, their implementation by managers is challenging. In this article, we offer an overview of the pros and cons of the SDGs as mechanisms for managers of multinationals to help contribute to sustainable development. On the pro side, the SDGs are comprehensive and actionable. On the con side, they are vague, complex and may lend themselves to "rainbow-washing." We provide suggestions for managers to help them respond to these challenges by avoiding cherry-picking SDGs, using the SDGs to assess sustainability, and pursuing SDG projects via partnerships

Appraisal of literature reviews on end-of-life care for minority ethnic groups in the UK and a critical comparison with policy recommendations from the UK end-of-life care strategy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence of low end-of-life (EoL) care service use by minority ethnic groups in the UK has given rise to a body of research and a number of reviews of the literature. This article aims to review and evaluate literature reviews on minority ethnic groups and EoL care in the UK and assess their suitability as an evidence base for policy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Systematic review. Searches were carried out in thirteen electronic databases, eight journals, reference lists, and grey literature. Reviews were included if they concerned minority ethnic groups and EoL care in the UK. Reviews were graded for quality and key themes identified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirteen reviews (2001-2009) met inclusion criteria. Seven took a systematic approach, of which four scored highly for methodological quality (a mean score of six, median seven). The majority of systematic reviews were therefore of a reasonable methodological quality. Most reviews were restricted by ethnic group, aspect of EoL care, or were broader reviews which reported relevant findings. Six key themes were identified.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A number of reviews were systematic and scored highly for methodological quality. These reviews provide a good reflection of the primary evidence and could be used to inform policy. The complexity and inter-relatedness of factors leading to low service use was recognised and reflected in reviews' recommendations for service improvement. Recommendations made in the UK End-of-Life Care Strategy were limited in comparison, and the Strategy's evidence base concerning minority ethnic groups was found to be narrow. Future policy should be embedded strongly in the evidence base to reflect the current literature and minimise bias.</p

Gerschenkron revisited: The new corporate Russia

© 2015, Journal of Economic Issues / Association for Evolutionary Economics. Our analysis is based on firm-specific data compiled from the Russian Trading System stock exchange and SKRIN (CKP-H in Russian) database. We seek to identify the factors behind Russias dramatically improved corporate sector performance from the beginning of the 2000s to December 2007. We argue that improved long-term corporate performance was a consequence of several policy initiatives associated with the state-dominated banking sector, which enabled statesubsidized investment funds to be channeled from a structurally reengineered energy sector to targeted investment projects located in other industries. We claim that Russias industrial strategy closely conforms to Alexander Gerschenkrons catch-up theory